Page 6 - Banking Finance September 2019

BANK UPDATE

Allahabad Bank opens 43 SBI links up with China's payments system
Kisan Pragati Kendras The SBI’s Shanghai branch is now link to China's National Advance Payment Sys-
tem (CNAPS), becoming the first Indian Bank to
Allahabad Bank has launched project operationalise it, a senior bank official said. The CNAPS,
‘Navodaya’ en- launched in 2008 by People's Bank of China (PBOC) provides
compassing sev- real-time settlement services for all payments cleared in
eral customer- mainland China, as well as in all clearing banks in offshore
centric initia- yuan centers, such as Hong Kong.
tives to put the
bank in high The CNAPS system is complemented by its international counterpart, the CIPS
(China International Payments System or Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payment Sys-
growth trajectory. One of these is es- tem), launched in 2015 with the aim of boosting international use of the Chi-
tablishment of ‘Kisan Pragati
nese currency, yuan. The CIPS already has participants from multiple countries
Kendras’ (KPK) for faster growth and
across the globe. The SBI is the only Indian bank to have obtained the license to
hassle-free processing and sanction do business in local currency and also inducted to the CNAPS by the PBOC as on
of high-value investment credit to
date, K Swaminathan, Chief Executive Officer of SBI, Shanghai told PTI.
boost the agriculture sector. The
bank has set up 43 KPKs across India South Indian Bank records 73.26 cr net profit in Q1
with defined catchment area to
handle agriculture investment pro- South Indian Bank has declared a net profit of Rs 73.26 crore in Q1 as against
posal of I10 lakh and above. Rs 23.04 crore during the corresponding period of
the previous year. Operating profit for the first
3 Regional Rural Banks quarter has grown from Rs 269.64 crore to Rs
317.63 crore (17.80 per cent) Y-o-Y.
sponsored by Indian Bank
The operating profit of the bank improved 17.80
Indian Bank has sponsored three per cent Y-o-Y during the first quarter and net profit
RRBs, one each in also registered a growth of 218.52 per cent Y-o-Y as a result of improved per-
Tamil Nadu, Andhra formance in the treasury and credit areas. The net interest income registered
Pradesh and UT of a growth of 8.38 per cent Y-o-Y. Other income registered a growth of 24.68 per
Puducherry. GoI, as cent. The Gross Non Performing Assets of the bank was stable Q-o-Q with an
part of rationali- increase of only 4 basis points.
sation of RRBs with an aim to bring
it down to 38 from 56 in the coun- VG Mathew, MD and CEO mentioned that the growth in MSME, retail and
try, proposed to amalgamate agriculture advances is in line with the focus of the bank. Bank has also been
Pallavan Grama Bank (sponsored by able to contain the slippages within the guidance of Rs 250 crore accretion in
Indian Bank) and Pandiyan Grama NPA per quarter.
Bank (sponsored by IOB) in the State
of Tamil Nadu. Both the RRBs in Allahabad to launch retail loans with repo rate
Tamil Nadu were in different CBS Allahabad Bank has announced that it will link its retail loans with the RBI's repo
platform. rate with an aim of making them cheaper. In a regulatory filing, Allahabad Bank
In recognition of Indian bank’s strong said it has benchmarked its loans up to Rs 75 lakh with the external benchmark
financials, predominant presence in linked rates (EBLR) with effect from September 1, 2019.
the state and preference among a "In order to ensure quicker transmission of policy rate adjustments, the bank
larger section of populace in Tamil has decided to price its housing loans up to Rs 75 lakh and Mudra loans sanc-
Nadu, Indian Bank was entrusted tioned with effect from September 1, 2019, with reference to EBLR," Allahabad
with the coveted responsibility of Bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The move comes at the
being sponsor bank for the amalgam- backdrop of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement that banks
ated Regional Rural Bank ‘Tamil will launch loan products linked to repo rate or an external benchmark that will
Nadu Grama Bank’. lead to reduced EMIs for housing, vehicle and other retail loans.

6 | 2019 | SEPTEMBER | BANKING FINANCE